Sherif Fathy: We are working to quickly revive traffic, diversify tourism types and use digital marketing to face the challenges
Head of the Federation of Tourist Chambers: Tourism can overcome challenges with expertise.. and government cooperation is a condition for getting through any crisis
Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, stated that inbound tourism to Egypt so far remains good and is even higher than last year, despite the regional events in the area, which have led to a slowdown in some bookings for April, with no cancellations of current tourist trips.
In statements yesterday, Fathy pointed to efforts to ensure no flights are cancelled, so they are ready to receive tourist bookings when they return to normal rates.
In his speech, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stressed that the future of tourism in Egypt depends to a large extent on an effective partnership between the government and the private sector, noting that the ministry is keen on continued dialogue and coordination with the Federation of Tourist Chambers and its affiliated chambers to discuss challenges and develop solutions that support the sector's growth.
He added that the state, with all its institutions, pays great attention to the tourism sector as one of the most important sectors supporting the national economy, thanking Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, and members of the government for their continued support for the sector and their work to remove the challenges it faces.
He continued: "The ministry is working in coordination with industry partners, tour operators and airlines to maintain the stability of tourist traffic and revive bookings as quickly as possible."
He pointed to the importance of understanding the nature of different tourism markets, as booking patterns differ from one market to another, which requires diversifying marketing and promotion tools to suit the nature of each market.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stressed that the Egyptian destination enjoys a unique diversity of tourism types, including cultural, beach, eco and adventure tourism, giving Egypt a major competitive advantage on the global tourism map.
He explained that the current promotional strategy focuses on highlighting this diversity and encouraging the design of tour programs that combine more than one destination in a single trip, helping extend tourists' length of stay and increase tourism spending.
He also noted that the coming phase will see the launch of innovative tourism products such as eco-tourism and community tourism, along with strengthening digital promotional campaigns on social media platforms.
This came on the sidelines of the annual Ramadan Suhoor organized by the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, attended by the Ministers of Tourism and Antiquities, Civil Aviation and Labor, the head of the House of Representatives' Tourism and Aviation Committee, leaders of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, members of the House of Representatives, and the heads and board members of the tourist chambers.
In his speech, Hossam El-Shaer, head of the Federation of Tourist Chambers, praised the continued support of the political leadership and the Egyptian government for the tourism sector, stressing that the cooperation between the government and the private sector is one of the most important factors behind the success of the Egyptian tourism industry and its ability to achieve rising growth rates.
El-Shaer noted that the tourism industry is currently operating amid regional and international challenges due to the turbulent situation in the region, but Egypt has many assets that strengthen its ability to deal with these challenges, foremost among them its security and stability, which is one of the most important attractions of the Egyptian destination.
The head of the Federation of Tourist Chambers explained that the comprehensive infrastructure development Egypt has seen in recent years, including building modern road networks and new cities and developing transport and airports, represents major support for the tourism sector and gives it important competitive advantages on the global tourism map.
He added that these projects help ease movement between different tourist destinations and enhance the tourist experience inside Egypt, helping increase tourism spending and extend tourists' length of stay.
El-Shaer stressed that the Federation and its five affiliated tourist chambers work in an integrated way to support and develop the industry, whether by raising the level of training and qualification of workers, confronting illegal entities, or working to improve the quality of tourism services and strengthen the competitiveness of the Egyptian destination.
He noted that Egyptian tourism achieved historic, unprecedented figures last year, but the ambition remains greater given Egypt's unique and diverse tourism assets capable of achieving higher growth rates in the coming years, with a positive impact on the national economy.
